Portable gymnastic apparatus.



S. L. PLATT. PORTABLE GYMN ASTIC APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 00T.28, 1914.

1,126,857. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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S. L. PLATT.

PORTABLE GYMNASTIG APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28, 1914.

1 126,857. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

2 SHBETSSHEET 2.

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INVENTOR WITNESSES 4% B me 5,

SAMUEL L. PLATE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PORTABLE GYMNASTIG APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

App1ication filed October 28, 1914. Serial N0. 888,932.

To all 1071 cm it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL L. PLATT, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Gymnastic Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to portable gymnastic apparatus, and particularly to the means for supporting the exercising part of such apparatus.

It has for its object to provide a support for gymnastic or exercising apparatus that can be attached to a part of the structure of every house, and accordingly that can be used in any home or living room, and it consists in the provision of means for supporting such exercising apparatus from the ordinary part of a house construction, such as a door casing, in such a manner that the same will safely support a weight much greater than it ever will be called upon to support, without marring the woodwork, and furthermore to provide that such apparatus can be quickly and easily secured in position without the use of any tools, and that it can be as quickly and easily removed and put out of the way.

The desirability, from a hygienic point of view,' of providing means whereby persons who by reasons of their occupations are prevented from obtaining useful exercise can obtain such exercise in the privacy of their own apartments is apparent to all. Usually the provision of such means requires that special space should be provided therefor, which is usually too expensive for the average person and entails the presence of cumbersome gymnastic apparatus. Accordingly, it has been my aim to provide a gymnastic or exercising apparatus which can be used in many ways and with different kinds of exercising apparatus. and which can be suspended from an ordinary part of the construction of a house, as for instance the easing of a door, in such a manner as to be easily applied and removed, and to require substantially no room.

Desirable forms in which my invention may be embodied are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a cross-section of a door frame and casing having the preferred form of my apparatus applied thereto; Fig.

2 is an elevation thereof illustrating in full lines the embodiment of one species of exerc sing apparatus, and in dotted lines another kind of apparatus; Fig. 3 illustrates in elevation my apparatus detached from its support, for purposes of clearness, looking from the left of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail view of an adjustable lug; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modified form of apparatus; Fi 6 is an elevation thereof in position, parts being cut away; and Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the modification Fig. 5.

In the preferred form of my invention I provide a supporting bar A the upper end of which is hook-shaped as at a and is preferably provided with an elongated engaging face a the forward edge of which is preferably formed as a penetrating edge and accordingly is made slightly longer than the rear edge and is wedge shaped. This hook is adapted to engage over the top of a door casing and the penetrating endthereof will sink in the top of such door casing and hold the hook in firm position. The lower end of the supporting bar A is prefe ably formed with an inward extension B. and to this is attached a bar C which has means for engaging against the door stop P to retain the supporting bar A in position. such means being preferably made adiustable. I have illustrated for this purpose a bar C which is attached to the lower end of the support A and carries a lug c which is ada ted to engage against the door stop P preferably through the interposition of a washer Q. For the purpose of adjusting the lug 0 firml against the stop and holding it in position, I prefer the thumb-nut D which, as illustrated. is threaded on the bar C. To insure that the lug 0 will always be in position. I prefer to provide means against its turning. and one way of doing this is by the pin 0 which is attached to the lower part of the lug c and passes freely through an opening in :1 lug fixed to the bar C.

The lower inwardly turned end B of the supporting bar A is equipped with means which inthe ordinary use of the device will be sufficient to maintain the support A in position. Such means. as illustrated. comprise a thumb-sc ewEwhich is adapted to engage against the lower side of the door frame R preferably through the interposition of a rubber or other washer e. In the use of the device, however. any movement of the support A toward the casing 0, if

it is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the thumb-screw IE, will simply cause the said support to move into contact with the casing O. This will be of very infrequent occurrence. In fact, I have found in ordinary use that the thumb-screw is sufficient to hold the lower end of the device in position, but any movement toward the casing will be unaccompanied with any dangerous result. A. movement of the support A away from the casing may be productive of dangerous results inasmuch as it would tend to pry the casing O away from the frame R and so might cause the user of the apparatus to fall or be thrown. To insure,therefore, against any such possibility I have provided the stop 0 which by engaging against the door stop I? effectually prevents such an occurrence. i

It is desirablethat the bar 0' should be capable of being thrown down out of the.

way to permit the door to be closed, and

for this purpose" I havepivoted the same to the support A so that it shall freely swing out of position when desired. To prevent the said bar from swinging down out of position in case thelower end of the support A may move slightly toward the casing O,- I provide means for tightening the pivot of the said bar C. so that the same may always be held" in operative position when desired. For this purpose I provide the thumb-screw F which is threaded into the far wing G of'the pair of wings G G between which the bar is pivoted. These wings are shown as attached to the head of the thumb-screw E and it will be seen that by tightening the nut its head f will draw the wing G toward the: wing. G and bind the bar 0 so that the same will remain in position; 7 I I My improved supports: will" usually be employed in pairs, and they will be situated as near the upright casings 0 O. as convenie'nt con'sideringthe'nature of the exercising apparatus used, also the width of the door. I have found by actu'al experience that the strength derived from the r'njansby which the upper casing O is usually fastened to its frame when supplemented by the strength of its miter'ed c'onnection with the vertical casings O 0 is suflicient to support a weight much in excess of that of a person who will use the apparatus. In fact, I have found that a weight of six hundred pounds can safely be supported by a'pair of such supports from an ordinary door casing. j

The exercising. apparatus maybe either the hand-grips I-I shown in dotted lines in Fig, 2, or the trapeze I. shown in full lines in the said figure. While I have illustrated both these apparatuses on the same door easing, this has been done for the purpose of 'e'conomiz'ing space and to illustrate that either form of the apparatus be used with my supports; Whatever form of apparatus is used, the support from my'invention will be afforded by substantially the same means.

I have illustrated a flexlble connection in the form of a chain J as being suspended.

The

illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the support A 'j has a similar shaped upper end, but its lower end is preferably bifurcated as at N N and is provided with openings j, of which several are shown, and through these bifurcated ends inward extension K of the lower end of the supporting bar A is passed.

t its inner end this extension K engages against the door frameR preferably through a washer e, and at its outer end it supports Intermediate these two ends it is supported in the lower bifurcated end N N bv means of a bolt L which passes through the said part and has thereon a thumb-nut Z. In this the chain J of the exercising apparatus] form of my invention the same means are provided for preventing movement of the support awayfrom the casing. Here the bar C has a lag. 0 which engages against the stop P preferably through the washer Q and is adjustable toward and from the snpport A by passing through a perforation in the lug is projecting downwardly from the bar K, and is held in adjustableposition by the thumb-screw It therefore will be seen that both forms of my invention comprise a supporting bar' having a hooked upper end adapted to engage over a door casing and having from its lower end an extension projecting inwardly and carrying a lug adapted to befengaged' against a door stop and which lug, is adjustable with relation to the support and has means forhol'ding the parts in adjusted position. i i V WVhile I haie described in detail" the spec'ific' construction illustrated by me, I do not adapted to engage against a projection on a frame and adjustable with relation to the bar, and means on one of said parts for supporting exercising devices.

2. A portable gymnastic or exercising apparatus comprising a bar having a hooked upper end for engaging over a casing, an inwardly extended lower end and a thumbscrew therein for engaging against a frame, an extension attached to said end and projecting inwardly therefrom, an adjustable lug on said extension adapted to engage against a stop on the frame, and means on said end for supporting exercising devices.

3. A portable gymnastic or exercising device comprising a bar having an upper end adapted to engage over a casing'and turned inwardly at its lower end, means thereon for supporting exercising devices and a swinging bar pivoted to such lower part and having a lug for engaging behind a stop on a frame and adjustable with relation to said lower end.

4. A portable gymnastic or exercising device comprising a bar having an upper end adapted to engage over a casing and turned inwardly at its lower end, a thumb-screw therein for engaging against a frame, means on said bar for supporting exercising devices and a swinging bar pivoted to such lower part and having a lug for engaging behind a stop on a frame and adjustable with relation to said lower end, and means for holding said pivoted bar in its operative position.

5. A portable gymnastic or exercising device comprising a bar having a hooked up per end for engaging over a casing and having its lower end turned inwardly and adapted to support exercising devices, a thumb-screw in said inwardly turned lower end adapted to engage against a frame, a swinging bar pivoted to such thumb-screw, a lug thereon for engaging against a stop on the frame, and an adjustable thumb-nut on the bar for adjusting said lug against the stop and holding it there.

6. A portable gymnastic or exercising device comprising a bar having a hooked upper end for engaging over a casing and having its lower end turned inwardly and adapted to support exercising devices, a thumb-screw in said inwardly turned lower end adapted to engage against a frame, a swinging bar pivoted to such thumb-screw, a lug thereon for engaging against a stop on the frame, an adjustable thumb-nut on the bar for adjusting said lug against the stop and holding it there, and a bolt constituting the pivot of said swinging bar and threaded in its support and adapted to hold said bar in adjusted position.

7. A portable gymnastic or exercising device comprising a bar having a hooked upper end for engaging over a casing and having its lower end turned inwardly and adapted to support exercising devices, a thumb-screw in said inwardly turned lower end adapted to engage against a frame, a swinging bar pivoted to such thumb-screw, a lug thereon for engaging against a stop on the frame, means for adjusting the lug and holding it in position, and means to prevent turning of the lug.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL L. PLATT.

Witnesses HENRY M. TURK, FRED WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

